ART FIZARRRTI love art and have really enjoyed it my whole life, since I was in preschool. You can see in my kindergarten graduation video of me saying "I want to be an artist when I grow up." Next year I plan to go to a highly noted art school - Rhode Island School of Design. A major factor that has put me in this position in my life are the weekly art classes I began taking in third grade. Every wednesday, I went to a local art class in Doylestown. My teacher, Ms. Amanda Layer, really taught me the basics of drawing at a young age. Art is like anything else you do in your life, such as sports, math, playing piano. People say they are not good at art, I say no you are, you just don't do it. Art is something to be taught, and practice really improves your skills. I continued taking classes through eighth grade and Amanda helped me put together my portfolio for the Mount art scholarship. With out I could have not received the scholarship. Art is my largest factor in that makes me me. I really stopped and got rid of any extracirricular activites as they were not as important as art to me. Freshman year I played soccer and track. By sophomore year, I had quit track to spend more time doing art. My junior year, I had made my roster consist of 4 art classes. By senior year, after a week of tryouts, I quit soccer. I realized I did not really enjoy it and rather spend my time going to art classes and especially work on my college portfolio. By not doing soccer, I went to three art classes a week. Something I would not have been able to do with soccer. I also know I would not have been accepted or even gotten done my early application for school. This year, I have 5 art classes. I just dont understand why people do things that dont make them happy. Why would someone take AP calc if they do not enjoy math. You only stress yourself out. I love art so i do art. On average I spend about 5 hours a day doing art. Through art, I have really found my real interests.
RISD
MUSICMusic is a large factor in my life and really creates who I am. It is not that I play music. I played piano for a couple years of my life and as much as I wish I stuck with it, I did not (art overtook). Being the youngest of five, I have always been in the presence of genuinely talented music. Always riding in the car with them, I always listened to their music. Never did we ever listen to the radio. Nobody was into mainstream, Q102 music so I have never been. I learned at a young age the importance and value of good music. I was introduced to bands such as Phish, at a young age, not really knowing the celebriality of them until only a few years ago. I began to listen to them again and realized I knew almost all the songs from continually listening to them as a child. This past weekend I just threw in a mix CD from when I was in second grade. The songs compiled were of Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Temptations, and many more. I knew every song by heart in second grade, I think that is unlike most second graders. I played it in class everyday and my teacher loved it. I burned her a CD when I graduated eighth grade. With having older siblings, I somehow found myself listening to music before my peers. Artists such as Jack Johnson, who is so famous now, I have been listening to since fifth grade. All my years I have always been made fun of because I did not know a single "top 20" song that my friends sang along to. I was a misfit in CYO dances while everyone was singing along. They said I listened to weird music. I said I listened to good music.
Music to me is something that you cant find a liking for on radio stations. People only claim to like the songs played because the radio stations are forcing them down your ears. You have no choice in the songs that you are listening too. You only like them because everyone else does. To me, music is about your own personal liking. I am constantly on the prowl for new artists that interest me. I download too many cds. Everybody knows how much I love my iPod. I have over 15,000 songs. When I meet new people, I always manage to end up communicating with them about music. I am truly interested in their tastes and any new suggestions they can give me. Music is also a strong influence on my art also. This first semester of the school year I used the subconscious visualizations of music as my concentration for twelve pieces. I did this by listening to a song and transferring the image i produced in my head into a piece of art. I also play music every time I paint. I love that I am allowed to play my iPod in the art room here at Mount.
I'm sorry I'm talking about music a lot but I have a lot to say about it. Music is also present in my life through live music. Going to concerts holds a special spot in my heart. To go somewhere and see a favorite band live is magic to me. I really found myself through going to concerts as no one cares who you are. Everyone just comes together to enjoy the same thing. Also, music large in my everyday family as my brother is part of a band - Long Miles. (YOU SHOULD CHECK EM OUT!) But together as a family we support my brother and I spread his music. In addition, my cousin is a rockstar in his genre- alternative rock you could say. Anthony Green, and his band is Circa SUrvive. His solo work is epic.
Music is part of a recipe that creates one's interests. How does one know that they truly like an artist if they've just listened to their top hit on the radio. To fully appreciate an artist I need to listen to their whole Cd, if not a couple. I really like classic rock. Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Crosby stills young and nash, Simon & Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, along with much modern alternative rock. Rather than spend my time on Facebook, I spend my time finding and creating playlists when on the computer.
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
BOOKSTwo books have strongly touched me and I really feel I would not be where I am, right here, right now, with out them. The first is "The Secret." If you have not already, I suggest you read it. I read it the summer before my eighth grade. I have been meaning to reread but i lent it out to a friend recently as I wanted to share the book's wisdom and actual "secret." The book is about the secret to life and it really is. It is all about how you think positive vibes, positive energy will surround you, ultimately adjusting the universe to what you desire or what to accomplish or anything. Its main message it has implanted in my life is the notion to always say or think, "I am happy and grateful I [insert anything]". You always talk in the present / have done something tense. For example, you say "I am happy and grateful I received a 100% on the test" even though you have not taken it yet. The way the secret works is it does not grant you that 100% but realigns your ways to study more, or to happen to choose the right answers. I really feel through this exercise, I feel, AND KNOW, how many things have fallen into place in my life. Two major events are receiving the art scholarship here at Mount, and being accepted into RISD. For months in eighth grade, every night before I went to bed, I would write down "I am happy and grateful I received the art scholarship to Mount" even though I had not yet. Even after my mother told me I did not get it, I still wrote it down. One day I got a phone call from S. Kathleen discussing the decline of the first offered scholar and I was next in line. Ultimately, I feel my real desire for the scholarship over shown any negatives and there was a reason the first girl declined. The beginning months of this school year I wrote about 5x a night, "I am happy and grateful I was accepted to RISD" or "I am happy and grateful i GO to RISD". I became very doubtful of my acceptance and was even handing in more transcripts the morning I found out I got accepted, but i still wrote this every night. I really believed I was getting this things and through my positive energy received them. I really have found the secret of life. The secret into myself.
Most recently, this other book has really influenced me, today, right here, right now. I got the book for christmas, its called, "Remember, Be Here, Now". Its a book from a llama who found the meaning of it all. I highly suggest EVERYONE READ IT. It focuses in on buddhism and the whole though process of You are Here, Now, In this moment. My background of my blog is a page of the book. YOU ARE ENLIGHTENED. I have really been enlightened within the past month through this book. My mind has been opened. I know meditate everyday, something that is necessary in one's life. To focus, and to not get caught up in the rush of life. Through this book I know live in the moment to every extent. For example, right now right here, I am writing this blog. I am not multi tasking on the internet. Right here right now, I feel the warmth of my fire. One line really stands out to me is "Later Never Exists". You never know what will come later, it just happens. It is not there yet, so stop worrying about it.
Remember, Be Here, Now
I'm sorry this post has been more of a stream of consciousness than a well written organized paragraphs but I just can go off about finding identity. I feel I see so many people, of all ages, just rushing around not really knowing what they want or who they are. I really focused in on finding myself and I am more than grateful I feel I truly understand myself and my Identity, especially being a young age of 18. Some people don't find themselves until they're almost done with life. Which is better than never though. I know my three topics were pretty cliche, Art, Music, Books, but I have my own way in each that have each factored into myself. Through this interests, I really have freed myself from all extracurricular nonsense in life. I know what I enjoy and I spend my time doing things that benefit my life and well being. For example, I cannot stand to watch reality tv. That is not you, how is watching someone's pointless drama (Kardashian's, cough, cough) in anyway beneficial to your life. The same goes with social networking to me. I do not do Facebook nor twitter. I see how it is a way to connect with people, but i feel they have turned into a way for people to publicize and fashion their lives to other people. If you want to make a connection to me, talk to me in person, call me - don't write on my wall in front of the entire world to see.
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